Fatal Intent - Jamie Jeffries Page 0,78
Alex dig in her heels once. Now she took it in stride. “Settle down, Lt. Watson. No need for threats. I won’t mention it until you clear it. But I am concerned about Dawn. The longer her assailants are at large, the more likely they’ll try again, and this time they may actually succeed. Have you made any headway with any of them about why they’ve been focusing on Natives recently? It’s a departure from their historical agenda.”
“Again, we do know how to do our jobs. We’re getting conflicting information on that. Be patient, and I’ll give you the information when we’re sure we’ve got the truth.”
It was the best she could do. Watson wasn’t going to budge. Alex ended the call and made another right away.
“I’ve got some information I can’t yet publish about the Dawn Redbird incident. Can you give me at least a week on that follow-up?”
“A week, no more. After that, there won’t be much interest. You know how short attention spans are these days.”
Alex agreed and hung up. Now it was more important than ever that she find a part-time job immediately. She’d been counting on the money from the last article to pay for one of her classes.
Dylan arrived home shortly after three-thirty and breezed in with a kiss for her. “Sure is a better commute here,” he remarked.
“Will that be the case when you’re out in the field?”
“Looks like it. Let’s go get the boys.”
Alex paid close attention to the few turns they made on the way to the boys’ school. After today she would pick them up on days when she didn’t have afternoon classes, so they’d get home an hour before Dylan. That gave them time to play and then Dylan would help them with homework while Alex got dinner. When she called them in for tonight’s dinner, Dylan teased her.
“Hamburgers and potato salad? Thought you were going to get us more balanced?”
Alex flushed. “Well, this is the best I could do without knowing what they’ll eat. Dylan, we have to sit down and make some lists tonight after they’re in bed. Also, I need to tell you that I have to find a job before I can do my share on the budget.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’re a team now. There aren’t any ‘shares’.”
After the boys went to bed, they sat at the kitchen table and talked finances, division of labor and meal planning. Obviously, Alex was going to be the main cook, since Dylan was at best a basic bachelor-style cook. Dylan would bear responsibility for the majority of the finances, arguing that he would have had to do so without her here anyway. Besides, her presence didn’t raise the rent or the fixed bills. They also talked about how they would parent the boys, Dylan insisting that if this was a permanent arrangement, Alex might as well exert her authority immediately.
As a result of their broad range of family discussion, it was too late to start in on internet security. Alex did assure Dylan that no posts or articles for third parties about the Patriots would be forthcoming for at least a week, and that’s where they left it. She put it out of her mind, expecting to talk about it before the week was over.
By Friday, everyone was settling into the new routine. Alex had showed the boys proper hand washing technique and was looking at the hand towel in their bathroom, the third she’d hung in as many days, with approval when the doorbell rang. She wasn’t expecting anyone, so she looked through the peephole, to see Lt. Watson standing on her front porch. Alex swung the door open and greeted him with pleasure.
“Lt. Watson, what a pleasant surprise! Come in.” Alex stood aside and allowed Watson to enter, and then showed him to a seat and offered something to drink. After her initial surprise at seeing him, she looked more closely at his expression and began to have misgivings as to the nature of the call. Watson refused the drink with thanks, and then got down to business.
“Alex, please sit down,” he requested.
She sat, perched on the edge of the seat.
“We had a rush on your DNA test, as you know. I’m here to let you know that your hunch was correct. The woman was your mother. I’m sorry.”
Alex felt a rush of adrenaline flood her temples, almost like a small scare. She’d known it, so it wasn’t a great shock, but the confirmation still